Temporal variations in micropollutant inlet concentrations matter when planning the design and compliance assessment of stormwater control measures

Abstract

Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs) contribute to reducing micropollutant emissions from separate sewer systems. SCM planning and design are often performed by looking at the hydrological performance. Assessment of pollutant removal and the ability to comply with discharge concentration limits is often simplified due to a lack of data and limited monitoring resources. This study analyses the impact of using different time resolutions of input stormwater concentrations when assessing the compliance of SCMs against water quality standards. The behaviour of three indicator micropollutants (MP - Copper, Diuron, Benzo[a]pyrene) was assessed in four SCM archetypes, which were defined to represent typical SCM removal processes. High resolution MP data were extrapolated by using high resolution (2 min) measurements of TSS over a long period (343 events). The compliance assessment showed that high resolution input concentrations can result in a different level of compliance with water quality standards, especially when discharged concentrations are close to the limit values. This study underlines the importance of considering the high temporal variability of stormwater micropollutants when planning and designing SCMs to identify the most effective solutions for stormwater pollution management and to ensure a thorough consideration of all the environmental implications.